The police yesterday confirmed 26 people dead in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, after a suicide bomber detonated himself in a Mosque near the town’s main market.

Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, who was at the scene few hours after it occurred, was informed that 16 persons had died at the scene of the blast, while several others who sustained severe injuries had been rushed to the hospital. Read more

Gunmen burn 250 houses in Plateau village

Unknowngunmen have overrun Shonong village in Riyom local government area of Plateau State in an attack spanning three days.

Two hundred houses in the village were burnt down and about 1500 residents are now displaced, according to a member of the community, Isaac Kahwun. Read more

Suswam withdraws petition against Gemade

Former Governor of Benue State, Dr. Gabriel Suswam, has withdrawn his petition challenging the election of Senator Barnabas Gemade, saying the decision is to enhance the development of the state.

In the last general elections, Suswam contested the Benue North East senatorial district on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Gemade of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Read more

Alhaji Gero scores first goal in Denmark

Ex-Nigeria U-20 striker Alhaji Gero has ended his goals drought in Denmark after he scored his first goal of the season for Viborg yesterday in a 3-0 win over hosts Bronshoj.

The former Rangers forward gave his team the opening lead from the penalty spot in the 12th minute. Read more

UN honours four fallen Nigerian peacekeepers, 122 others

The United Nations, on Friday, honoured 126 men and women who died in 2014 while on peacekeeping missions.

Among them are four Nigerians, namely: Lance Corporal Silas Danyawu and Lance Corporal John Julius from the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur; and Corporal Adama Ike and Sergeant Rabiatu Musa, who both served with the United Nations Mission in Liberia. Read more

Panic as Apo transmission system collapses on Inauguration Day

There was panic at the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) following the collapse of a transmission system (100MVA transformer) in Apo Transmission Station at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the early hours of presidential inauguration.

A highly placed source who made this disclosure to The Nation on the condition of anonymity, said the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) was earlier billed to receive as much load allocation as possible, but confusion set in when a major fault reared its ugly head at the station. Read more

Counting cost of fuel crisis

Fuel crisis is not new in this part of the world. But to many Nigerians who have had to endure the bitter pill of the lingering fuel scarcity these past weeks, the hoopla generated by the non-availability of petroleum products have been rather unprecedented.

From players in the telecoms, publishing, banking, manufacturing, healthcare givers, transportation, aviation sector, other service providers, the pangs of fuel scarcity was painfully felt by all, with many people enduring unending long queues at petrol stations across the country. Read more

Chamber to Buhari: improve the fortunes of SMEs

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry ABUCCIMA has urged the incoming government to come up with policies that will enable Small Medium Enterprises access the N220b SME fund domicile in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

In a statement by the Vice President Media, Abuja Chamber of Commerce Jude Igwe, the SMEs represent roughly 85 per cent of the economy and they have been globally acknowledged as the engine of growth of any economy, Nigeria inclusive and the chamber movements all over the world are mostly populated by this group. Read more

220 Nigerians Given Street Names in Abuja

No fewer than 220 influential Nigerians of high repute including the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; his Vice, Arc. Namadi Sambo, and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had their names on the streets of the nation’s capital in this year’s street naming exercise in Abuja.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Saturday said it would continue to maintain best practices in the conduct of its examinations, irrespective of security challenges it has witnessed.

The council’s Head of National Office (HNO), Dr Charles Eguridu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the conduct of the council’s examinations was improving by the year. Read more

Murder of NURTW Boss Triggers Protest in Ilorin

Transporters under the aegis of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) yesterday barricaded Ilorin/Ajase- Ipo highway in Kwara State to protest the alleged killing of their chairman by a police officer.

The officer who was part of a patrol team that mounted a road block at Ajase- Ipo allegedly fired a shot that killed the transporter identified as Akeem Laduba. Read more

Non-oil exporters demand payment of N125bn NDCC claims

As a new administration led by Muhammadu Buhari takes charge of Nigeria’s affairs, operators in the non-oil sector have demanded the payment of N175bn worth of Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates issued to them by the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan in the Export Expansion Grant scheme.

They urged the new administration to honour the certificates and pay them. Read more

Chimamanda Adichie exhorts Wellesley grads

Celebrated Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a rousing commencement address at Wellesley College Friday, talking about feminism, her support for Wellesley alum Hillary Clinton, and what it’s like to be sampled by Beyoncé. Read more

Ijaw leaders angry with Jonathan

A section of Ijaw leaders has openly castigated ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for allegedly neglecting to promote the collective interest of the Ijaw in his six years as President.

They accused him of paying attention to only his Ogbia and Otuoke kinsmen while ignoring other Ijaws. Read more

Okowa Suspends Recruitment Exercise

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has suspended the ongoing recruitment exercise into the state civil service.

He said the suspension was sequel to the fact that process was fraught with sharp practices and could not be adjudged to be credible. Read more

Chibok, Gwoza IDPs Beg Buhari to Take Them Home

Following the successful election and inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Internally Displaced Persons from Chibok and Gwoza, currently residing in Wasa 2, Abuja have called on him to totally liberate their communities and state of all Boko Haram elements so that they can return home; even as philanthropist, Hon Kenneth Ibe-Kalu offered temporary relief to them. Read more

Ambode Meets Perm Secs, Receives Namibian President

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on Saturday held his first meeting with the Body of Permanent Secretaries in the State Public Service, reiterating that the State civil service will drive the change and the continuity which he intends to put in place in the next four years.

The Governor who spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, where he also received the President of Namibia, Dr Hage Geingob on a courtesy visit, said he intends to strengthen the Civil Service and continue with the reforms through which he will carry out his policies. Read more

Nigeria, South Korea to Improve Economic, Parliamentary Ties

Nigeria and the Republic of South Korea is to improve economic, parliamentary and socio- political relationship that would be mutually beneficial to citizens of both countries. Parliaments of both nations would facilitate the bilateral cooperation .

These were part of the accord reached by Presidential Special Envoy from South Korea led by Senator Lee Ju-Young to President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration and Senate President Senator David Mark in Abuja at the weekend. Read more

FIFA Women’s W/Cup Controversy trails Falcons’ Nike jerseys

Nigeria’s senior women team are still awaiting their Nike jerseys with exactly seven days to the start of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, SavidNews authoritatively gathered.

The Super Falcons were billed to first launch the kits against Mali in an Olympic qualifying match before the Malians’ late withdrawal, but yet to access the jerseys nearly a month later. Read more

Manchester City spy on Flying Eagles Stars

Big-spending EPL outfit Manches­ter City plan to run the rule on several Flying Eagles stars including Ifeanyi Mat­thew and Kingley So­kari at the U20 World Cup in New Zealand, AfricanFootball.com can exclusively report.

Manchester City head of recruitment Gary Worthington told only African Football.com he will watch Nigeria’s first two matches against Bra­zil and North Korea after he was hinted on the po­tentials of several players of the African champi­ons. Read more

It’s World Cup or nothing, restates Manu

Coach Manu Garba has restated the resolve of the Flying Eagles to make history by becoming the first Nigerian team to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

The Flying Eagles have been beaten finalists at the 1989 and 2005 tournaments and have qualified for this competition without a break for the past 10 years. Read more

Dominant Arsenal ‘Gun’ Down Villa for Record 12th Trophy

Holders Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 12th time after beating Aston Villa 4-0 in a one-sided final at Wembley.

The Gunners were in control for almost the entire match and deservedly took the lead in the 41st minute through Theo Walcott, who was preferred up front to Olivier Giroud. Read more

China rejects US criticism over South China Sea reclamations

China on Sunday rejected US demands to stop intensifying reclamation works in the South China Sea, saying it was exercising its sovereignty and using the outposts to fulfil international responsibilities.

Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the general staff department in the People’s Liberation Army, told a security summit in Singapore that “the situation in the South China Sea is on the whole peaceful and stable, and there has never been an issue with the freedom of navigation.” Read more

Joe Biden’s son Beau dies from brain cancer

US Vice-President Joe Biden has announced that his son, Beau, has died from brain cancer.

The 46-year-old was hospitalised earlier this month at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre, near Washington. Read more

Yemen rebels ‘holding US hostages’

At least four Americans are being held in Yemen by rebels who toppled the US backed government, according to reports.

The Washington Post said attempts to free the Americans have failed. Read more

France and Morocco Announce Counter-Terrorism Cooperation

Following a rocky year in their often-delicate relationship, France and Morocco have announced they will cooperate on counter-terrorist activities — especially in light of the ISIS threat, whose militants has been recruiting Muslims in both countries.

“We had a difficult year of course, now it’s behind us, and [relations] are resuming as if nothing had happened,” said Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkilane after a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, as reported by the Associated Press. Read more